Frictional driving mechanism.



No. 767,604. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

E. A. SPERRY.

PRIGTIONAL DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 24, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 767,604. Patented August 16, 1904.

UNrrED STATES ATENT FFICE.

ELMER A. SPERRY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS,TO AMERICAN ELECTRIC AND CONTROLLER COMPANY, A COR- PORATION OF DELAIVARE.

FRIOTIONAL DRIVING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,604, dated. August16, 1904. Application filed November 24,1903. $erialNo.18Z,4=98. (Nmodel.)

TO all whom it y supporting-frames A and B, which rest upon Be it knownthatI, ELMER A. SPERRY, a citithe base 13. These frames are alike, and50 Zen of the United States, residing at Clevetherefore a description ofone is a description land, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have ofeach. and each comprises two sections, one

invented certain new and. useful Improveof which rests upon the base 13and comprises ments in Frictional Driving Mechanism, of the hub 1A, inwhich the shaft is journaled, a Which the following is a specification.suitable bushing 111 being placed in said hub. 5 5

This invention relates to frictional driving Bent arms 15, 16, 17, and18 radiate from the gear by which the ratio of the speed of the hub andcarry at their outer ends the journaldriving member to that of thedriven mem- -box sections 19, 20, 21,-and 22. Encircling ber may bevaried, and has for one object to the arms of the section and secured totheir secure the even distribution of strains, while outer ends is thering or band 23. The other also securing great variation of speed.section comprises a hub 26, adapted to sleeve In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is upon hub let, and from hub' 26 extend four 5 avertical longitudinal section of my improved radial arms similar tothose of the other seegearing, in which the friction wheels and tionexcept that they are oppositely bent and their supports on theright-hand side are upon their'outer ends are supported the other shownin elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical secsection of the journal-boxes andan encircling tion on the line a" w of Fig. 1 looking in the band 28,similar to band 23. The sections are 20 direction of the arrow.assembled to form a frame by sleeving the There are two separatedparallel framesAB hub 26 upon the hub let, and the arms on the erectedupon a suitable base, and each has a two sections are brought oppositeeach other,

, central bearing for a rotating shaft 10 and whenbolt-holes 30,31,32,and 33 of the journalcarries four Wheel-frames C D EF at right boxsections willregister,and they may then be 25 angles to each other, eachof said frames havbolted together. -Journaled upon hubs 1A so ingtrunnions, so that it may swing about its as to rotate and havelongitudinal movement longitudinal axis, and in each frame turns athereon is a hollow pulley G, a suitable bushfriction-wheel I, the shaftor axis 56 of which ing 13 1 being interposed between the pulley is atright angles to that of the wheel-frame. and the hubs. The pulley G hasconcave side 30 About theshaft 10 between the frames A faces 35 and 36,which extend completely B turns a rotatable member, as a pulley G, thearound the pulley and with which the frictionopposite faces of which arecurved to coincide .wheels engage. Inasmuch as the pulley G is withcircles traversed by theperipheries of the longitudinally movable uponthe hubs 14:, it wheels I as they are adjusted. Upon the shaft willreadily adjust itself to any inequalities 35 10 are mounted frictionmembers, as disks of the friction-wheels bearing upon its two H K, eachhaving a universal-jointed connecfaces. In the driving-face 3'7 of thepulley tion with the shaft, but rotating therewith, are oil-holes. as38, through which oil may be and each with an inner-curved facecoincidintroduced into the interior of the pulley,

ing with the path traversed by the peripheries whence it finds its waythrough holes, as 39,

4 of the wheels I as they are adjusted. to the pulley-bearings andthence through The wheel-frames are operatively related holes, as A0 andI1, to the bearings of the to worms LM, secured to rotatable shaftP, soshaft 10. The holes 38 may be threaded, as 9 that all the wheel-framesmay be turned about shown, to receive threaded plugs whereby theirlongitudinal axes by rotating shaft P. the holes may be closed and theentrance of 45 The above parts may be constructed in any dirt to theinterior of the pulley prevented.

suitable manner. I will now describe that Secured to one end of theshaft 10 is the shown. hemispherical piece a2, which is adapted to Theshaft 10 is supported in bearings in the l enter a hemispherical cavityin the hub 43 of I gular relation thereto in a longitudinal direca diskH, and thereby form a sort of ball-andsocket joint. Thedisk is, however,keyed on the piece 42. so that it cannot rotate about the axis of shaft10, but may change its antion. The disk H has a concave face 45 upon itsinner side, which is similar to the face 36 on pulley (i and is oppositethereto. Near the other end of the shaft 10 is mounted the pulley 46,which is chosen of a diameter with relation to pulley G such thatcertain relative peripheral speeds are obtained, as will be hereinafterdescribed. Pulley 46 has the hub 47, which is secured against rotationupon the shaft 10 by a key 76; but it may have longitudinal movement andhas a hemispherical portion on which is mounted a disk K. This disk issimilar to the disk H and is mounted in the same manner, its concaveface 49 being opposite to the similar face 35 of the pulley 34. Theshaft 10 extends beyond the hub 47 and is threaded upon its end toreceive the locking-nuts 50 and 51. A washer 52 is placed inside thenuts, and interposed between the washer and the hub 47 is a spring 53,which forces the disks H and K toward each other and against thefriction-wheels, and since the disks H and K may have angular movementlongitudinally of shaft 10 and are movable longitudinally they readilyadjust themselves to inequalities in the friction-wheels.

J ournaled in each of the boxes supported at the outer ends of the armsof each of the frames A and B are trunnions 54 and 55, which supportframes O D E F for the friction-wheels I. In this case there are four ofthese wheel-frames and friction-wheels, Fig. 2, supported by frame Aupon one side of the pulley G, and upon the other side of the pulley. (isimilar friction-wheels and their supporting-frames are similarlysupported by the frame B. The number of friction-wheels upon each sideof the pulley should be at least three for proper operation where thefriction-disks have universal-joint connections, as described, and thesefriction-wheels are preferably equidistantly spaced. The construction ofeach of the wheel-frames and friction-wheels is identical with theothers except that certain of the trunnions 55 of the wheel-frames areshorter than others, 54, owing to the fact that their bearings crosseach other, and therefore a description of one friction-wheel and itsframe will be a description of each. Each wheelframe comprises endpieces and 61, secured to supporting-trunnions in any suitable manner,and to these end pieces are secured side bars 62 and 63, in which isjournaled, preferably by means of ball-bearings, as shown, afriction-wheel I, having its axis passing through that of shaft 10.Secured in a peripheral groove of the friction-wheel is leather 64 orother suitable substance for insuring frictional engagen'ient betweenthe wheel and the surfaces with which it comes in contact. Upon theinner sides and at the ends ofeach wheelframe are the beveledgear-segments 65 and 66, which are adapted to engage with similar gearsupon adjacent wheel -frames. Upon each side of pulley (Jr two of thewheel-frame trunnions have extensions 67 and 68 projecting beyond theirbearings. Upon these extensions are sleeved the hubs of arms 69 and 70,which are secured thereon by the washers 71 and screws 72, tapped intothe ends of the extensions. The arms 69 and are secured against rotationabout extensions 67 and 68 by keys or other suitable means and at theirouter ends are provided with wormgears adapted to engage with a worm Lor M, the arms upon one side of the pulley G engaging with one worm,while those on the other side of the pulley engage with the other worm.vThe worms L and M are rigidly secured to shaft P, which is rotatablymounted in the base 18 and extends longitudinally thereof.

Power may be applied to either of the pulleys G or 46 and taken from theother. Assuming that the power is applied to pulley G, the faces 35 and36 will frictionally turn the friction-wheels I about their axes. Thesewheels in turn frictionally rotate the disks H and K by engagement withtheir faces 49 and 45, and shaft 10 and pulley 46 are carried with them.If power were applied to pulley 46, the power would be transmitted fromthe disks to the, friction-wheels and thence to pulley G.

The ratio of the angular speeds of the driving and driven pul leysthatis, the ratio of their numbers of revolutions ina given timedepends uponthe angular position of the friction-wheels with relation to the shaft10, as will be well understood, and by turning the shaft P by anysuitable means the worms L and M will operate through arms, as 69 and70, to turn certain of the wheel-frame trunnions, as 54 and 55, by meansof extensions,

'as 67 and 68, thereby changing the angular relation of thefriction-wheels supported by those frames to the axis of shaft 10, andthrough the gears 65 and 66 the remaining wheel-frames will be similarlyturned. It will thus be seen that by revolving shaft P all thefriction-wheels upon both sides of pulley G are similarly andsimultaneously adjusted to vary the ratio of the angular speeds of thedriving and driven members. The ratio of the peripheral speeds of thepulleys, and therefore of the speeds of the belts upon them, isdependent upon their, relative diameters as well as upon their angularspeeds. A certain ratio of the peripheral speeds for a given adjustmentof the friction-wheels may be obtained by choosing pulleys of properdiameters, and this ratio may be varied by adjusting the friction-wheelsas described.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and'arrangement ofparts SllOWDiLHCl described, I claim- 1. In a frictional driving-gear,the combination of a rotatable member, friction-wheels engaging withopposite sides of said member, cooperating disks, a shaft therefor and acommon support for said member and said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a frictional driving-gear, the combi-v nation of' a pulley,friction-wheels engaging with opposite sides of said pulley, cooperatingdisks, a shaft therefor and a common support for said pulley and saidshaft, substantially as described.

3. In a-frictional driving-gear, the combination of a rotatable member,friction-wheels engaging with one side of said member and a disk bearingupon said friction-wheels, said member and disk being-longitudinallymovable and the disk being angularly movable in respect to the shaft,substantially as described.

4:. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a shaft, a diskthereon secured against motion of rotation with reference to said shaftbut movable angularly with relation to the axis of said shaft andfriction-wheels engaging with said disk, substantially as described.

5. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a shaft, a memberlongitudinally and rotatably movable, friction -wheels bearing againstsaid member on opposite sides and disks secured against rotation withreference to said shaft and bearing against said wheels but angularlymovable with relation to said shaft, substantially as described.

v 6. In a frictional driving-gear, the combinationof a pulley having acurved face at each side,two sets of swinging friction-wheelsbearingupon both faces of said pulley, each set having three or morewheels and disks having universal-joint connections and curved facesbearing upon said friction-wheels, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a frictional drivinggear, of three frictionmembers, a set of friction-wheels between the central member and eachouter member, each set comprising three or more wheels and the outermembers having universal-joint connections, and means whereby the twoouter members or the central member may be driven positively,substantially as described.

8. The combination in a frictional drivinggear, of three frictionmembers having curved faces, a set of swinging friction-wheels betweenthe central member and each outer member, each set comprising three ormore wheels and the outer members having universal-joint connections,and means whereby the two outer members or the central member may bedriven positively, substantially as described.

9. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a pulley,friction-wheels bearing upon both sides of said pulley and disks bearingupon said friction-wheels, said pulley and disks being longitudinallymovable and the disks being angularly movable, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a pulley,friction-wheels bearing upon both sides of said pulley and disks bearingupon said friction-wheels, said pulley and disks being longitudinallymovable and the disks being angularly movable, and a shaft carrying thedisks and about which the pulley rotates, substantially as described.

11. In africtional driving-gear, the combination of two sets offriction-wheels, a stationary support for each set of wheels, a pulleymounted between said sets of frictionwheels so as to have movement ofrotation, a shaft rotatably mounted in said supports, a disk securedupon said shaft in such manner as to have angular movement only withrelation to said shaft and bearing upon one of said sets offriction-wheels and a second disk mounted upon said shaft and securedthereto in such manner as to prevent rotation but permit angularmovement of said second disk with relation to said shaft, said seconddisk bearing upon the other of said sets. of friction-wheels,substantially as described.

12. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of two sets offriction-wheels, a stationary support for each set of wheels, a pulleymounted between said sets of frictionwheels so as to have longitudinalmovement and also movement of rotation, a shaft rotatably mounted insaid supports, a disk secured upon said shaft in such manner as to haveangular movement only with relation to. said shaft and bearing upon oneof said sets of friction-wheels and a second disk mounted upon saidshaft and secured thereto in such manner as to prevent rotation butpermit longitudinal angular movement of said second disk with relationto said shaft, said second disk bearing upon the other of said sets offrictionwheels. substantially as described.

13. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of two sets offriction-wheels, a stationarysupport for each of said sets of wheels, ashaft rotatably mounted in said supports, a pulley having concay esides, said pulley being mountedbetween said sets of frictionwheels, adisk having a concave face bearing against one of said sets offriction-wheels, said disk being mounted upon said shaft so as to havelongitudinal and angular movement wheels, so as to balance the pressuresupon the friction-wheels, substantially as described.

14. The combination with two oppositelyarranged frames offriction-wheels carried thereby, friction members engaging the wheels,and an intermediate pulley in contact with said wheels and journaledupon said frames, substantially as described.

15. The combination with two oppositelyarranged frames of swingingfriction-wheels carried thereby, friction members engaging said wheels,an intermediatepulley in contact with said wheels and journaled on saidframes, and means for swinging the frictionwheels to differentpositions, substantially as described.

16. The combination with two oppositelyarranged frames of swingingfriction-Wheels carried thereby, friction members engaging said wheelseach with a curved engaging face, and an intermediate pulley with acurved face on each side and journaled on said frames, substantially asdescribed.

17. The combination with the supportingframe and its friction-wheelseach mounted to rotate on its axis and swing about an axis perpendicularthereto, of a shaft, and a member engaging the peripheries of saidwheels and mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith while changingfreely its angular position relative thereto, substantially asdescribed.

18. In a frictional driving-gear comprising friction-wheels andsupporting-frames with trunnions, a frame in sections, and means forfastening said sections together, each section comprising a hub, armsradiating from said hub and trunnion-box sections secured to said arms,substantially as described.

19. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a frame comprisingsections with a means for securing said sections together, each sectioncomprising a hub, arms radiating therefrom, a band connecting theextremities of said arms and journal-box sections supported by thesection, substantially as described.

20. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a sectional frameand means for fastening the sections together, each section comprising ahub, bent arms radiating therefrom and box-sections secured to saidarms, friction-wheel frames journaled in the boxes said wheelrframesswinging in the openings formed by the bends in the arms, andfrictionwheels mounted in said wheel-frames, substantially as described.

21. In a frictional drivinggear, a frame, friction Wheel framesrevolubly mounted thereon, friction-wheels mounted in said latterframes, gear-segments upon each wheelframe engaging with similarsegments upon adjacent wheel-frames and means for swinging thefriction-wheel frames, substantially as described.

22. In a frictional drivingmechanism, the combination of a support, awheel frame rocking thereon, a friction-wheel mounted in said frame, afriction member journaled on said support and engaging with saidfrictionwheel, a gear on said frame, a worm engaging with said gear andmeans for turning said worm, substantially as described.

23. In a frictional driving mechanism, the combination of a base, aplurality of supports mounted thereon, a set of revolubly-mountedwheel-frames carried by each support and provided with worm-gears,friction-wheels mounted in said frames, a friction member j ournaled onsaid supports, a shaft and a Worm on said shaft engaging with theworm-gears of each set, substantially as described.

24:. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of a support,trunnion-boxes thereon, wheel-frames having trunnions supported in saidboxes, one of, said trunnions extending beyond its box, an arm securedto said extended trunnion, said arm having a wormgear at its extremity,a worm engaging with said worm-gear and a shaft carrying said worm.substantially as described.

25. In africtional driving-gear, the combination of two frictionmembers, one or more of which has a universal-joint connection, three ormore friction-wheels between said members and means for forcing saidmembers against said wheels, substantially as described.

26. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of two frictionmembers, one or more of which has a universal-joint connection, three ormore equidistantly-spaeed frictionwheels between said members and meansfor forcing said members against said wheels, substantially asdescribed.

27. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of two frictionmembers, one or more of which has a universal-joint connection, three ormore friction-wheels between said members and resilient means forforcing said members against said wheels, substantially as described.

28. In a frictional driving-gear, the combination of two frictionmembers, three or more friction-wheels between said members,

' means for forcing said members against said wheels and a universaljoint for one of said members mounted between said member and saidmeans, substantially as described.

- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELMER A. SPERRY.

Witnesses:

F. L. FREEMAN, THOS. HOWE.

